Untitled
by Adela H
Summary: I'm not gonna tell you...you'll have to read to find out. But it will be D/G with a celtic twist...
1. Chapter One

(A/N: Ok, this is the updated version, both A and B are now combined into one Chapter One. And I just wanna make one thing clear. I have never been to Ireland but I've read a lot about the ancient stone monuments and about Celtic Myths and even though I may mention real Irish cities and towns, just know that I've never been to these places and any similarities are completely coincidental. Oh, yeah, and I don't own Harry Potter in part or in whole. That's all!)  
  
Untitled  
  
Chapter One  
  
The flashing lights from the cameras mimicked the flashing lights in the sky. The crowd was very reluctant to leave, but unless they wanted to get caught in the rain, they had better head back to bus that would take them to Punchestown. A few last photos were taken of the 23 foot high stone, amazed at the sheer height, and as the last person entered the bus the first rain drops fell to the earth.  
  
"Wasn't that nice?" An Irish couple asked an American group of tourists.  
  
"Yeah, it was awesome!" A young looking man said, a huge smile on his face.  
  
"Of course the guys would like it." An equally looking young girl said to her friend, and they both began to laugh.  
  
"The longstone," The Irish gentleman said, "Is the tallest in all of Ireland. No one knows for sure exactly what they were built for, but it sure is something to imagine, though, isn't it?"  
  
The American tourists began to talk amongst themselves about their next stop while the Irish couple dreamed of the warm fire at the local pub, neither of them noticing the young red head sitting a few rows in front, writing away on a notebook.  
  
"The stone is 23 feet high. The base of the stone is square like in shape, with a circumference of 11 feet. The tip ends in a more wedge like appearance, rather than a strait point. The stone is all together very elegant."  
  
The red head paused, put the end of the pen she was writing with in her mouth, and looked out the window. The weather was growing darker, but at the same time it was very peaceful. The clouds were dark and billowing, covering the land in shadow, but the prospect of rain was very pleasant to one Virginia Weasley.  
  
As she sat, thus, she looked back on her life, and tried to pin point the exact time that lead her to this. It was a long, gradual change, but Ginny was always fascinated with the Celtic people and their religion. Very little was known about them, especially by the Wizarding world. It was thought by some Witches and Wizards that the Druids of old were those with magic in their blood, but Ginny wasn't quite satisfied with this theory. It didn't quite ring true to her.  
  
The rain splashed against the windows more rapidly now, and the bus splashed through muddy puddles that had gathered on the road. The distant forest was silhouetted against the dark sky, and it looked like a painting. Presently some of the local guides on the bus began to teach the tourists some traditional songs, and there was laughing and joking, and one Australian had stood up at one point to bellow out the words he had just learned, though rather off key. Everyone laughed as the man's wife had pulled him down to his seat to prevent any further embarrassment.  
  
"The stone is said to have been erected in the Early Bronze Age as a burial mark, but excavations have turned up no bodies. Some sacrificial pottery and bones were found, but they are of a later date. I am requesting the use of a Discernagraph to detect whether the stone has any magical properties, or if the area has a strong field of magic. My theory is that Wizards built this stone and after they had passed on, Muggles had used them in their own rituals." Ginny stopped there, then at the bottom of the page wrote a post script. "P.S. -- Jeff, please use your influence and get me the things I need. If I can just prove that this stone has magical properties, I can get more grants and continue my studying. No pressure, V. Weasley."  
  
"Miss?" A man with an Irish rogue shook Ginny's shoulder. "The bus has stopped."  
  
Ginny shut the notebook she was working on and looked quickly around the bus. Upon seeing that she was the only passenger left Ginny gathered her things and was escorted out of the bus by the man, who appeared to be the driver. The rain was coming down by the bucket full and through the haze Ginny could see the Inn she had rented a room just a few yards away. She was glad she had bought some wellies earlier that day, for they kept the water from the puddles splashing on her shoes. By the time she reached the awning of the Inn, she was soaked through. As the door opened, Ginny was bathed in light, and standing in the doorway was a plump woman with short, curly brown hair.  
  
"Aye, faith, child, come out of the rain!"  
  
Ginny was grabbed by a rather plump hand that held a vice like grip on her arm, and was brought inside. She nearly dropped her notebook and pen as the woman made her way through the loud and raucous crowd, towards the blazing fire on the other side. She was set down right in front of her, among strangers who were all drinking, and told to "Sit tight, warm up, and a bite to eat would be brought out strait away!"  
  
Some of the Americans near the fire were singing at the top of their lungs the song they had just learned on the bus. Most of them looked about her age, twenty one, twenty two. They all looked very athletic and were probably hikers. Ginny smiled at them, basking in their drunken happiness. One of the guys noticed, and smiled back.  
  
"Hey!" The man said, taking a seat next to Ginny's.  
  
"Hello." Ginny blushed.  
  
"Oh, you're Irish?"  
  
"No, I'm British."  
  
"Oh, sorry about that, I hope I didn't offend you or anything."  
  
"No, it's alright."  
  
Ginny noticed the man was very handsome, with blonde streaks in his dark hair and very dark eyes and olive complexion. Next to him she probably looked like a ghost with flaming red hair.  
  
"Does it rain all the time over here?" He asked, looking a little disappointed.  
  
"Well, it does rain a lot, but not as much as people make it out to be."  
  
"I'm glad! We're supposed to go hiking tomorrow, but with this weather.forget it!" The man smiled, then looked at the fire.  
  
"Well, here we are, at last!" The plump Inn Keeper said as she handed Ginny a plate filled with meat and mashed potatoes, every inch covered in a brown gravy. "Eat up, my dear."  
  
Ginny thanked the woman, then began eating. It was very delicious and reminded Ginny of her own mother's cooking. As she ate she remembered the tales her Mum would tell her about Irish folklore. Molly's side of the family were Irish and moved to England when Molly was a little girl. Arthur's family had Irish blood in them, but you had to go back a few generations of Witches and Wizards. Molly told her daughter of the sidhe, or fairy folk, and how they once ruled all of Ireland. The many wars fought between the gods and goddesses and their people. Ginny believed that that is what possessed her to take this field of study. She always believed that some of those stories were true, if a bit over exaggerated, and she was going to prove it.  
  
After her meal Ginny returned the plate to a small girl that was running around, picking up after people. She then went to the front desk and asked for the key to her room. She always kept her keys at the front desk for fear she'd lose it somewhere. She took the small brass key and went up the narrow stairway to the second floor. A dimly lit hallway with doors on either side stretched out in front of her. She walked down the hall, feeling it odd that there was no noise, not even drifting up from below.  
  
The carpet beneath her feet was a pattern of squares and circles and looked worn from years of feet passing over it. The wallpaper was a similar pattern and looked as if the dust and grime from the years were caked over what must be very beautiful, bright colors. One of the overhead lights kept flickering on and off, and Ginny moved faster down the hallway to her own room. Once she was inside she shut the door behind her and breathed deeply.  
  
"Come here, Maeve." Ginny said to the owl that was perched on the windowsill.  
  
The owl flew obediently towards Ginny, and stuck out her leg. Ginny opened her notebook and gave a small gasp at what she saw. The page she had written on looked as if it had been torn out of her notebook and stuffed quickly back in. She didn't remember tearing the page out, and she hadn't left it out of her sight since she last wrote in it. Ginny reasoned that it must have torn out while she was running towards the Inn in the rain. At any rate she folded the piece of paper up, placed it in a small pouch and tied that to the owls leg.  
  
"Take this to Jeff, luv." Ginny stroked the owl, then watched it fly out the window into the star filled sky that was now void of rain and filled her lungs with the moist crisp cold air.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The morning sky was dotted with white puffy clouds, all very harmless and showing no signs of the storm the previous night. The ground, however, was as moist as a marsh and Ginny found great difficulty in getting to the longstone the next day. She was alone, studying the stone and taking notes, when the owl came. Ginny took the note from Maeve's leg and watched as she flew off towards the nearby wood, probably to hunt. Ginny read:  
  
"Ginny, I managed to pull a few strings as you asked, but I'm afraid you won't like the ones I did pull. The University won't willingly give any more grants towards your cause without a report. They're sending someone from the Financing Office and they will be there shortly. I was able to deduce from what I heard that they will be going through your notes and watching you work to determine if your cause would be beneficial. I suggest you organize yourself and put on a great show or your funding will be cut off. I think you should call in the rest of your team also, the school board doesn't like the fact that you prefer to work alone, while the rest of your team researches in the library. Just giving you a heads up.  
  
J. Nickel"  
  
Ginny gave a huge sigh, then read the note over again. Jeff knew she was anything but organized. All her notes were in a secret compartment built onto the bottom of her trunk, and there were all kinds of spells on it, but they were just thrown in there. She tried to recall if she even dated all of them. Knowing that the rest of the day was shot, Ginny closed her notebook and headed back to the town.  
  
The walk was a longish one, but Ginny dared not apparate. She didn't think anyone in the small town was a Witch or Wizard and wasn't willing to take that risk. She hoped the Representative from the Finance Office hadn't arrived yet. At this though Ginny quickened her pace.  
  
A half hour later Ginny was walking into the town. The Inn she was staying at was right in the center, adjacent to the town square. The Americans were gone which meant the Inn was silent. She asked for the key to her room at the front, then headed up to her room, but she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her.  
  
The room was a mess. Drawers were pulled out with their contents strewn about the floor. The bed sheets were all torn off the bead and the mattress was half off the frame of the bed. Ginny ran around, trying to figure out if anything had been stolen. The window was wide open but upon looking out Ginny realized that no one would have climbed the sheer face of the building. They must have come through the door, whoever had done this, and was looking for something in particular.  
  
"My notes!" Ginny ran to the trunk at the foot of the bed which was also open, her clothes flung nearby. Ginny undid all the spells then opened the secret latch and the wood gave way to a false bottom. Ginny had magically expanded the compartment so she could fit all her notes and research in there, and she began pulling out papers and binders and books. Luckily the thief, whoever they were, weren't looking for the notes, or they just hadn't found them.  
  
"I brought you something to drink, dearie-" The Inn Keeper said coming into the room, then stopped. "What happened?"  
  
Ginny placed all her things back in the trunk, then stood up. "I don't know. I came back and my room looked like this. Did you see anyone come in?"  
  
"I'm sorry but I've been away the whole morning. Who would do something like this, I wonder?"  
  
That was what Ginny was trying to figure out, but she came up with nothing. The Inn Keeper made apologies and reassured her that someone would be up to clean the mess, but Ginny refused, saying she'd do it herself. The woman left, leaving Ginny to put everything away. Once the room resembled its previous self, Ginny opened the trunk and brought out all her notes and began to organize them.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Maria," Ginny wrote, "I want you to come to Ireland right away. Bring Mike and Serena and ask Collin if he'd be willing to do me another favor. Something is not right and I don't want you to tell anyone about what we're working on. Keep your notes private and safe. I'll be waiting at the Inn I told you about and please hurry.  
  
V. Weasley."  
  
Ginny watched as Maeve carried her note away towards England.  
  
It took the better part of the afternoon, but Ginny had managed to organize her notes by date. It was hard to imagine that she had been working on this for over a year and a half, and she could feel that she was on the breaking point. She knew that the answers she was looking for were before her, all she had to do was reach out and grab them. But she couldn't go back to the longstone, not until the Representative had come.  
  
Feeling a bit anxious, Ginny had gone down to ask the Inn Keeper about the small town. The woman, whom Ginny found out her name was Brigit, was all too willing to tell the history that had been passed down from generation to generation.  
  
"Me family's been living here for what seems forever," She started. "The town, of course, was originally built east of the church, but for some reason people abandoned that part and began building on this side. A lot of the young folk want out, but they always come back once they come to realize that the world just doesn't have what we have."  
  
"Is there any place I could do some research here?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Are you a student at a University?" Brigit asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah, sort of."  
  
"Well," Brigit thought. "The library is inside the church, but if you go into Kilney they have a bigger library with more information of the likes you're probably looking for. The church library has town information, mostly; people information."  
  
"Could I leave a note at the front desk for you to give to anyone looking for me?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Ginny quickly scribbled down a message explaining she'd be at the church on the east side of town, then gave it to the man behind the desk. Taking her notebook with her, Ginny headed for the church.  
  
The church was very ancient, probably built a few hundred years after Christianity was first introduced to the Irish. It was a smallish church, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. The clerk had looked at Ginny suspiciously before he let her in. As they walked he began a short tour that he had memorized for when tourists came. But Ginny wasn't interested in the architecture just yet.  
  
"I was told that you had a library?" Ginny interrupted the man.  
  
Again he looked at her suspiciously before he lead her to the a door towards the back. Ginny was let into a small room that was piled with books and manuscripts. The air was dusty and the only light came through two windows on one side of the room where a desk and chair were.  
  
"These aren't nearly as old as the books we once had. The people from Kilney came in, claiming they wanted to preserve the works, and took them away. I'll be keeping my eye on you." The man said, before leaving.  
  
Ginny shook her head then began going through the books. Most of them were records of births, marriages and deaths. Some of them were legal documents of so-and-so buying land from one person or another. Ginny felt very disappointed, but kept looking. After a good two hours of going through dusty old pages, Ginny felt she hit the jackpot. Tucked away in a shadowy corner of one shelf were a few volumes of books that looked worse for wear. Ginny pulled them out, and although they were written in a strange language, and she couldn't decipher them, she took them from the shelf excitedly and brought them to the table.  
  
The pages were brown with age and very stiff. There were quite a few holes were bugs had managed to chew away parts of history, but they were pretty much intact. The people from Kilney must have overlooked or underestimated the value of these books, Ginny thought. She wanted to take these with her, to examine them closer and have Serena, the teams linguist, to translate them. But the clerk would most certainly not let anything leave the library, so Ginny copied down the titles and a few of the sentences on the first page of each book.  
  
She was nearly finished when she heard the door open.  
  
"I'm almost finished." Ginny said, thinking the intruder must be the clerk.  
  
"You'd better be, because I don't want to spend more time than I have to in this pathetic place."  
  
Ginny quickly looked up at the man who spoke, then groaned. She couldn't believe that the insufferable git was here, in this library, ruining her victorious find. She stood up as dignified as she could, but she knew that no amount of dignity would counter act the amount of dust on her face and the state of her clothes to Draco Malfoy. 


	2. Chapter Two

Untitled  
  
Chapter Two:  
  
"What are you doing here anyway?" Ginny asked as her and Draco exited the church.  
  
Exited is probably not the word to describe the Clerk practically throwing them out. Apparently he hadn't given Draco permission to enter the church and he seemed to think that the strange man dressed all in black had appeared out of nowhere and all in an attempt to demise his authority. Well, Draco had just apparated, though he didn't care anything for the man's authority.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, "I'm here to oversee your findings and study and decide whether or not your 'project' is worth the schools money."  
  
"You're the Rep from the Financial Department?" Ginny turned to stare at Draco.  
  
"So it would seem." Draco said, not caring at all that his decision could make or break Ginny's future.  
  
"Are you staying in the village then?" Ginny asked hopefully. "Because it will take a while to review all my work and I expect you'll want to visit the site and-"  
  
"I wouldn't stay in this town for all the gold in Gringotts." Draco rolled his eyes at the quaint looking pub. "I'll be apparating and disapparating."  
  
"But you will be reviewing my work, correct? And-and visiting the site?"  
  
Draco gave a huge sigh, "It is my job to review your work and I suppose that will include visiting this stone-or whatever it is you're working on."  
  
Ginny's mind was instantly put at rest knowing that she would at least get a fair shot at stating her case. Who knew, she might even be able to manipulate Draco into getting what she wanted. He obviously didn't want to stay here, so if she suggested he just write a quick report on okaying her grant, he'd be gone and she could finish her work in peace.  
  
"Oy, Ginny!" Someone yelled from up ahead.  
  
Ginny smiled at Maria as she came running towards her from the Inn. The two hugged and quickly caught up on recent developments. Ginny introduced Draco to Maria, emphasizing that he would be the Rep for the Financial Department. Maria smiled approvingly at Draco, then continued with them the rest of the way to the Inn.  
  
"Are the others here yet?" Ginny asked once they entered the Inn.  
  
Ginny grabbed her key from the front desk, then Brigit showed them to a small table next to a window that looked out over the street. They were brought drinks and continued with their conversation.  
  
"Mike and Serena will get here later. They're, er, getting their things together." Maria smiled knowingly at Ginny. Both of them knew that Mike and Serena were both bad at keeping their notes in order, much like their team leader.  
  
"And Collin?" Ginny gulped.  
  
"Collin Crevey will definitely be here. He just finished shooting some Common Welsh Greens for a Magazine and has some time before he needs to get some shots of Chinese Fireballs."  
  
"Collin Crevey?" Draco spoke up. "That kid from school who couldn't keep his camera off of Potter?"  
  
Maria, having gone to school in South America, didn't know that Draco, Ginny and Collin had attended the same school, but was surprised at Draco's outburst.  
  
"Collin Crevey is a celebrated photographer. His works are priceless." Maria said defensively, obviously not getting Ginny's gestures for her to shut it.  
  
"Please," Draco scoffed. "How hard can it be to aim a camera and shoot?"  
  
"I'd like to see you take some of the shots he has. His shots speak poetry and I don't know of any one else who has captured Scottish Unicorn as he did last summer."  
  
"Well!" Ginny shouted, stopping Maria from continuing. "I think I'll go up to my room and get my notes. I'll be right back." Ginny stood up from the table. "Maria, a little help?"  
  
Reluctantly Maria got up as well and followed Ginny towards the stairs. As they were entering the hallway Ginny said, "Maria, how could you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" Maria asked confused.  
  
"Draco Malfoy is here to 'yes' or 'no' on our future funding. It would be prudent for us to treat him like a god, not arguing over little things."  
  
"I just couldn't sit there and have that-that-Malfoy person disrespect Collin." Maria paused. "And you! How could you just sit there? With all that you and Collin have been through. You should have seen the look in his eyes when I told him you needed him. He still loves you, you know."  
  
Ginny bit her bottom lip, "I know, and I'm sorry I had to bring him into this, but it was on such short notice."  
  
Taking the key from her pocket, Ginny unlocked the door to her room and allowed Maria to enter before her. As Ginny was collecting her notes, and making sure she had everything, Maria kept talking.  
  
"Collin is a very nice man, Ginny. Muy Guapo, I'd say. I just don't understand why you broke up with him?"  
  
"It's complicated," Ginny said. "I can't find my notebook."  
  
Maria picked a notebook up from off the dresser and waved it in front of Ginny, which caused her to remember the torn page and the break-in earlier.  
  
"Maria, I have to tell you something." Ginny shut the door, then looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. "Someone broke into my room and I have a feeling they were looking for my notes. From now on any finds and important notes we take will be kept with me, alright? And no talking to any one about what we're doing, for safety reasons."  
  
"But why?" Maria asked. "All we're doing is studying ancient stone monuments. What's so secretive about that? These Muggles don't know."  
  
"I don't know." Was Ginny's response.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Serena and Mike arrived shortly after, each of them carrying many suitcases between them. They all of them booked rooms in the Inn, causing a smile to spread over Brigit's face.  
  
"Well, now, well now, and here I was thinking the season was come to a close." She gave them all tea and ordered the bellboy to get the rooms ready.  
  
"There'll be one more later." Ginny informed. "A Collin Creevey. I'll pay for his room right now."  
  
"Gosh, Ginny, you've no idea the work we've been through." Serena exhaled as she fell into a cushioned chair.  
  
"Stacks of papers the size of mountains!" Mike described. "I couldn't believe that we had that many notes. All a year and a half worth of note taking."  
  
"Time flies." Serena lifted the cup to her lips and drank the sweet, hot tea.  
  
"Thank you so much." Ginny said. "You've no idea how much this means to me-to all of us. And I have a feeling all our hard work will be well paid off soon."  
  
Mike lifted one of his eyebrows and Serena sat straighter in her chair. "What do you mean?"  
  
Ginny looked around the small room. An elderly couple were seated a few tables away, both enjoying their tea. On the other side of the room someone from the kitchen began to clean the tables and get them ready for dinner while Brigit was talking to the clerk in the doorway.  
  
"Serena, take a look at these and tell me what you can make of them." Ginny handed over the papers she had copied the ancient text on.  
  
Serena's eyes roamed the papers, widening with every second. "They're amazing! I can't believe it really exists. Where'd you get these?"  
  
"I got them at the church on the other end of town. The books were really old and I thought you'd like to see them. Do you know what language it is?"  
  
"Well, it doesn't have a name, per say." Serena took a moment to look over the text once again. "It's supposed to be myth, or legend, depends on who's relating the tale."  
  
By now everyone sitting around the table were leaning in closer to better see and hear Serena. This was her moment to shine, which didn't come very often. She usually spent her time translating from French or Gaelic monk archives. She had studied ancient languages and modern language, and was thrilled when Ginny asked her to join their team, even without finishing school. But this, these pages would give her something-a challenge.  
  
"I don't want to get any ones hopes up," She looked around at the faces of her fellow team members, "guess I'm too late."  
  
"I think you should wait to tell us later. Right now I'd like everyone to get settled in, then we can go over the schedule for tomorrow." Ginny said just as Brigit came over with the room keys.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The group had gone up the stairs to their rooms to unpack and freshen up. Ginny told them to meet in her room in an hour, and then they'd go over everything, starting with the schedule, then going to the ancient manuscripts. Ginny was sitting on a very plush couch in the sitting room, reading a novel, when someone sat down beside her.  
  
"Has any one every told you you'd make an excellent model?" The decidedly male voice asked.  
  
Ginny looked up and smiled at Collin, shaking her head.  
  
"It's true!" Collin took his hands and placed them in a square shape, then looked through the square at Ginny. "Perfect bone structure, gorgeous red hair-natural?"  
  
Ginny took her book and playfully hit Collin in the stomach.  
  
"Ouch!" Collin grabbed his stomach. "That's what I get for coming out here, dropping my huge project that could make me famous? Well, Miss Weasley, I don't have to take that."  
  
"Collin, you're such a tease." Ginny laughed.  
  
Collin smiled at Ginny, who then looked away. She was now sorely regretting asking him to do this for her. She knew their past would interfere. It was just that she couldn't find anyone else she could trust on such a short notice. If she had, oh, say a month she could have gone to the school and asked for an amateur photojournalist. Despite knowing that deep within herself that she did not love Collin, her cheeks began to blush.  
  
"Ginny, I-" Collin began.  
  
"Collin, please," Ginny looked up. "Don't bring up the past. I still feel the same way and I don't want you to say anything that you'll regret."  
  
Collin gave a hallow laugh, "I guy can hope, can't he?"  
  
Ginny was about to explain once again how she confused her over affectionate feelings she had for Collin as love, but that was when Draco had decided to re-enter the scene. Where'd he go, anyway? Ginny asked herself. He'd been there when her and Maria entered the Inn, but sort of disappeared when Serena and Mike showed up.  
  
"What's he doing here?" Collin whispered to Ginny before Draco was upon them.  
  
"Well," It was too late for a reply, Draco was already standing in front of them. "Draco Malfoy, you already know Collin Creevey." Both Ginny and Collin stood up, Collin reaching his hand out to Draco who refused to shake. "Well, Collin, Draco is from the Financial Department and will report to the Trustees if our funding should be continued."  
  
"Well isn't this irony personified?" Collin muttered under his breath.  
  
"Excuse me?" Draco said.  
  
"Yes, well, I believe everyone is waiting upstairs." Ginny said in a light voice. "Shall we?"  
  
(A/N: I'm still trying to decide on what celtic themes I should intertwine in this new story of mine, so if you'd like to see anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do.  
  
~ADELA H) 


	3. Chapter Three

(A/N: Still haven't come up with a title yet, but the plots are coming now!!!!)  
  
Untitled  
  
Chapter Three:  
  
"Alright," Ginny started. Everyone was in Ginny's room, which was of considerable size. Serena and Mike were both sitting on the bed while Maria, Ginny and Collin were sitting at a small table. Draco was leaning against the wall, examining his nails. "I've made a list of things we need to get done in the next week." Ginny passed out small pamphlets of papers to everyone in the group, then looked at Draco to see if he approved of her organizational skills. He didn't even feign interest. "Right then, for tomorrow I hope everything will go as follows. Serena can stay here and work on the manuscript and perhaps get into the church to view the originals. The rest of us will go into Kileny to research the surrounding area, maybe find some local myths and legends, see if we can't find some more ancient manuscripts. We'll come back around noon, compare notes, then head over to the longstone. I've talked to someone from the Muggle Relations Department and they said I couldn't get my permit until Wednesday, so we won't be able to do the actually digging until then, but I want you guys to see this thing up close. Oh, and Collin, bring your camera."  
  
"Will do!" Collin winked.  
  
"And one more thing. I want you guys to not mention anything about our research. If someone asks what we're doing, make something up. Keep your notes locked away, or better yet hand them in to me at the end of the day. I'll keep them in my trunk." Everyone looked at Ginny questioningly, but they knew she would never tell them to do something without a reason. "Tomorrow will be as scheduled and I know research is sometimes a little boring, but it's a necessary evil. Now, off you go."  
  
Ginny watched as everyone filtered out of her room. She wasn't aware of Draco's presence until the last person left. He was still standing by the wall, only now his gaze was intent upon her.  
  
"What is it?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Lock your notes away?" He asked in disbelief. "What, afraid the locals will figure out you're a witch and burn you at the longstone?"  
  
Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, but immediately regained her composure. "I do not think it concerns you, and my team trusts me."  
  
"Well, I was sent here to know everything about your work, so if you don't mind I'd like to see your notes."  
  
Ginny couldn't be sure if he were serious. He didn't look like the kind of guy who liked to read archeological notes before bed. She tried showing her parents and friends her work before, but they easily grew bored with it. She looked from her trunk where she kept her notes, then back up to him.  
  
"I suppose I have to."  
  
"You suppose right."  
  
Walking to her trunk Ginny opened it up before making sure her body blocked the secret catch and counter curses from Draco's view and ears. She dug out all her papers and binders and photos then placed them all on the table. "Happy reading!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
When the next morning came Ginny awoke with a start. She'd been having a really weird dream. A shadowy figure was chasing her, only she saw the scene from above, like she was floating ten feet above herself. Trying to shake away the feeling the dream had given her, she remembered about the happenings of last night. Draco had taken her notes, then dissaparated.  
  
"And if he doesn't show up today-" Ginny gritted her teeth.  
  
By the time she got ready and down the stairs, breakfast was being served. Slowly the whole team entered the dining area and began to eat. Small talk floated among the team, but everyone was excited about starting the days work. The whole team was rarely together in one place, besides at the School. Ginny was always off somewhere or other, and the others were always at different libraries researching, or cataloguing previous finds.  
  
The team said goodbye to Serena, who went back up to her room to work a little more on the manuscripts. Ginny led the others out the door and down the road to the bus stop that would take them to Kilney. The air was cool and had the smell of moist grass. Ginny loved Ireland, and everything about it. It was rich in history and myths and legends abounded. She still had some family here, though they lived further south, and they were too distant of relations to call upon without warning or introduction from a closer relative.  
  
"So what have you been doing here, Gin, before you called us?" Mark asked as they waited for the bus.  
  
"I've been going to the site and took notes. I got a survey of the land, and drew some sketches that struck me as important. I must admit I've sort of been on vacation, but now it's down to business."  
  
"I hope Malfoy won't be following us the whole time." Collin said, fidgeting with his camera.  
  
"I don't know, I haven't quite figured him out yet." Ginny replied.  
  
"What do you mean?" The question came from Maria.  
  
"Well," Ginny paused. "I don't understand why him of all people would be on the Representative Committee for the Financial Department. It doesn't make sense. And," Ginny paused for effect, "he took my notes last night, saying he had a right to see them, then just dissaprated. If he doesn't return them I'll hunt him down and-and-do something bad."  
  
As the others laughed, the bus pulled up. They got on it, then were headed off towards Kilney. The countryside was beautiful, emerald green fields with ancient stone walls slithering over them. A few herds of cattle and sheep were seen, and then they came into the city. They were dropped off right in front of the library they had wanted to go to and as soon as they entered they all began searching for books that would help them.  
  
"So what is it exactly you're searching for?" Collin asked Ginny, who was flipping through some ancient looking tomes.  
  
Ginny's eyes never left the pages as she responded, "You'll only laugh."  
  
Collin smiled at Ginny, watching a loose strand of hair fall from behind her ear and into her face. She pushed the hair back, then flipped the page.  
  
"Try me." Collin said.  
  
Ginny looked up and examined his eyes and once she was satisfied she said, "You've heard of fairy tales, right? Stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and then along the last century edited for mere childrens' stories? Well, I'm sort of out to prove they were once real."  
  
"Real? How?"  
  
"I believe that fairy tales derived from myths and legends which themselves derived from true historic accounts. I'm especially fascinated with the Celtic myths and legends and that of the Tuatha de Danaan. They were said to be the children of gods and goddesses, half gods/goddesses themselves. They ruled Ireland for a long time and then an outside influence pushed them into hiding in the hills and under the waves of the ocean."  
  
"And you think that's real?" Collin almost began to laugh, but then saw the look in Ginny's eyes. "Well, think of it, if it's real, shouldn't there be some remnants of them?"  
  
"That's what I'm trying to find. I believe these longstones and stone circles have some connection between their world and ours. I don't know if I hit the bulls eye, but I know I'm close. I just need a few more clues, the final key."  
  
Ginny began looking through the books again.  
  
"And what happens when you do find the key?"  
  
Ginny stopped. What would she do? She'd never gotten that far, really. What if she did find a way into their world?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Draco Malfoy really did hate Muggles and this library was full of them. All he wanted to do was find Ginny, check up on her, see what she was doing, then leave. But at this rate it'd take him hours to find her. The library was huge and it was filled with people, half of them with red hair. Draco's annoyed expression kept the library from asking if he needed help which suited Draco just fine. He was looking from face to face until he finally spotted one he recognized.  
  
"Marcia, yeah?" Draco asked the girl he had seen with Ginny the other day.  
  
"Maria." She smiled, taking in his appearance which was very pleasing to the eye, except for that bored annoyed look.  
  
"Right, well where's Ginny, I need to speak with her."  
  
"I believe she's over here." Maria grabbed the books she was looking through, then walked through the many tables and chairs to the back of the library.  
  
"Have you ever been to an archeological dig before?" Maria asked to strike up conversation.  
  
"No, I have not had that pleasure." His voice leaked with sarcasm.  
  
"This one plans on being very exciting. You should consider yourself lucky."  
  
"I'll make note of that, thank you."  
  
"Ah, there she is, with Collin." She said. "They used to be a couple before they split up a few months ago.  
  
Draco looked across the room and saw Ginny leaning over a table pointing to the inside of a book. Collin was leaning across the table to look at the book as well, and suddenly Ginny looked up and smiled widely. She looked back at the book and a few seconds later Collin grabbed a lock of Ginny's hair between his forefinger and thumb. Ginny looked up again and began to laugh.  
  
"She really knows her stuff." Maria said, breaking Draco's concentration.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ginny, she knows a lot about her field. Ancient myths and legends, zeroing in on the Celtics. I don't know anyone her age as well versed in their field as Ginny is in hers." Maria paused, "I was thinking of coming back into town later this evening. They have this disco here that I hear plays excellent music. I wouldn't be at all opposed if you would like to join me."  
  
"Not tonight, thank you." Draco took leave of Maria and headed for Ginny.  
  
"Making much progress?" Draco asked as he stepped up to the two of them.  
  
Collin looked up with a bit of anger in his eyes and Ginny looked up with embarrassment.  
  
"Do you have my notes?" Ginny asked, trying desperately to keep her face going from pink to bright red.  
  
"Here they are." Draco reached into his pocket and pulled something out and showed it to Ginny.  
  
"What? You SHRUNK my notes?"  
  
Collin looked quickly around, hoping no one was paying attention to Ginny's outburst, but nearly everyone in their vicinity was turned towards them.  
  
"Look, you can easily restore them." Draco was also looking around, though caring little of what the Muggles thought.  
  
"Draco, in case you haven't noticed, we're in front of Muggles. I can't just restore my notes in front of them!" Ginny waved her hand, indicating the people that were now so obviously staring.  
  
"Ginny, calm down. Take the notes and let's go out for a while." Collin pulled back Ginny's chair so she could stand up.  
  
Ginny grabbed the notes from Draco's hands, then was led out of the library by Collin.  
  
"What did I do?" Draco asked.  
  
"I hope you're not going to count that against us." Maria said. 


End file.
